Pickled Cucumber Salad

Summer in Korea is quite hot and humid. People often complain that they lost their appetite and looking for something that spikes up their lost appetite.

Cool, crunch, and slightly spicy and sweet, this pickled cucumber salad can stimulate the lost appetite in the hot summer. This is a very common summer side dish in any Korean table and it is very simple to make.

Look for air-vacuumed pickled cucumber in the refrigerate section of Korean stores. These cucumbers are pickled in simple salt, vinegar, sugar brine and ready to tackle with flavors you are going to add.

Slice thinly.

You want to soak them in the cold water for 10 minutes to dilute the brine solution a little.

Squeeze them to death, because you love her. But I don’t mean it literally. You know that, right?

For some wicked reason many Koreans like to eat this pickled cucumber salad with leftover rice dumped in cold water. I know it sounds weird to dump the rice in the cold water, but it is actually pretty good to eat that way with this salad.

Comments

Brings back memories of my childhood... I recently poured some water over my bowl of rice, and my two young children thought it was so funny. I had lost my appetite in the heat of the summer. I think I will go to the market and get some pickled cucumbers tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your beautiful stories and recipes.

Yes, I did prepare your pickled cucumber salad today and enjoyed it with a bowl of rice covered in water. My father used to call this kind of ban chan "rice thief" because it tastes so good and you keep eating. That's comfort food for me. Thanks!

Ah ha! So that's what I can do with Korean pickled cucumbers! I always just serve them on the side plain, much like Western pickles - this is much more interesting! I found you through a comment you left on China Sichuan Food, it was your blog name that caught my eye, love it!! (especially as I have a huge weakness for Kimchi....it is the ultimate diet food, I could eat it all day every day!!)

I love those pickled cucumber very much especially in hot summer when I do not want to stay in my kitchen for a long time. And this is really inviting and appealing. We have very similar Sichuan style pickled vegetables but cucumber is not a common ingredient. I guess it will be super good when serving with rice or porridge.

My mother and me both make this side dish with American pickles, too, and it tastes very good. We do not have a lot of markets near us that sell traditional Korean foods, so we just use what we have. It gives pickles a whole new delicious flavor that we enjoy.

Holly, I would love the recipe for brining the cucumbers. I've scoured the web many times looking for it.
You see, I grow Korean cucumbers every year in my garden. I have over 30 plants this year and I'm pulling about 10 cukes per day. Thanks in advance! (BTW - Korean cukes are the finest in the world - I've grown them all :-) )